For long periods of the race the two cars raced together, as pictured above, swapping places on a regular basis.

The #99 Gulf liveried Car, driven by Alex MacDowall (GB), Fernando Rees (FR) and Darryl O’Young (HK) (above) took a maiden podium the GTE Pro category, finishing a fine third, while the #97 blue and orange Vantage GTE driven by Darren Turner (GB) and Stefan Mücke (DE) finished fifth in the category, having had to pit to for damage repairs sustained in a chaotic start to the race (below).

The #95 Vantage GTE car and its pilots have extended their advantage in both the 2014 Team and Drivers GTE Am Championship tables with three rounds to go, while the #98 car and drivers have now moved up ahead of the Porsches and Ferraris to become their main challengers.

Aston Martin Racing has also closed the gap on second placed Porsche in the GTE Pro team standings.

The WEC moves to China for the next round of the series, with the 6 Hours of Shanghai, which takes place on Sunday November 2nd.